National Bank of Canada FI Takes Position in ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)

National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 427,000 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $8,839,000. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.07% of ZTO Express (Cayman) at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,661,908 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,432,000 after acquiring an additional 216,367 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 63.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 683,899 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $16,530,000 after purchasing an additional 265,356 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 674.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 533,287 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $11,348,000 after purchasing an additional 464,422 shares in the last quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd lifted its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 189.7% during the third quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd now owns 125,460 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,032,000 after buying an additional 82,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,527,359 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,916,000 after buying an additional 201,334 shares in the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from $37.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America raised ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $29.00 in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.00.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

ZTO stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.86. 1,967,639 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,293,511. ZTO Express has a 1-year low of $15.90 and a 1-year high of $30.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $20.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.55. The firm has a market cap of $12.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of -0.05.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 19th. The transportation company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 22.70%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts expect that ZTO Express will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a yield of 2.82%. ZTO Express (Cayman)'s payout ratio is 41.22%.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Profile

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc provides express delivery and other value-added logistics services in the People's Republic of China. It offers freight forwarding services; and delivery services for e-commerce and traditional merchants, and other express service users. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.